After Commodore Perry of the U.S. Navy pressed Japan to open trade with the West in 1854, a flood of Japanese decorative arts reached American shores. A mania for Japanese design followed, and in the 1870s and 1880s played a significant role in the development of the American Aesthetic movement. The simplicity, exoticism, and naturalism found in Japanese design were considered particularly avant-garde and innovative in 19th-century America.

The exterior decorations of the pitcher and cups cleverly refer to its contents, depicting a watery lower half which is swimming with fish and turtles while the sky above is populated with butterflies and dragonflies.